Department of Earth Sciences - Meteorology

This is the first flight of our high payload capacity Vision Aerial drone. This new airborne platform is capable of lifting about 15 lbs. of payload, which is sufficient to carry boundary layer and air chemistry instruments. We sincerely appreciate the contributions made by alumni and friends during our One-Day Give that provided 50% of the funding for this drone, with the remaining 50% coming from the University. 

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A team of meteorology students from Millersville University, under the supervision of Dr. Richard Clark, conducted a series of radiosonde launches for the purpose of validating the wind and virtual temperature measurements of the Scintec acoustic SODAR with RASS extension in the Pittsburgh, PA, area. The MU team deployed a state-of-the-art Vaisala MW41 Rawinsonde System with the RS41-SGP radiosonde to obtain aloft measurements of temperature, pressure, relative humidity, altitude, and GPS wind speed and direction. Upon returning to Millersville, the students performed data reduction, processing, and analytics to generate a set of derived variables that can be used to characterize the vertical structure and evolution of the troposphere, with special emphasis on the lower atmosphere -- what atmospheric scientists call the planetary boundary layer. From left to right in the video is Cameron Gonteski, student team leader, Victoria McPeek, and Eliza Fries.

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Dr. Sepi Yalda, Professor of Meteorology, has been elected AMS Fellow.

 

 

Dr. Sepi Yalda was elected Fellow of the American Meteorological Society in 2021. She will be formally inducted at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the AMS in January 2022. Read more... Congratulations, Dr. Yalda!

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Millersville Meteorology prof, Dr. Rich Clark, is 2021 president-Elect of the AMS!

 

 

Dr. Richard Clark is the 2021 President-elect of the American Meteorological Society. Read more... Congratulations, Dr. Clark!

 

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Millersville Meteorology Students chase New Jersey Tornado

 

Research, Activities and News

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millersville METEOROLOGY JOINS IMPACTS

 

Millersville University meteorology faculty members, Drs. Richard Clark and Todd Sikora, recently received a $77,600 grant to participate in a NASA Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS). For more, see IMPACTS (nasa.gov). Millersville was sought out to obtain atmospheric profiles of temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind velocity from the surface to the stratosphere in locations where there are perceived gaps in the current upper-air profiling network. A team of Millersville meteorology students will deploy to select sites closer to the Atlantic coast, one near Brick, NJ, and the other near Stroudsburg, PA, where they will provide support for the scientific objectives of IMPACTS. Millersville is funded to support seven intensive observing periods (IOPs), including one IOP where we will deploy a mobile profiling platform. Each mission is designed to launch up to 12 balloons with attached sensors (radiosondes) while nor'easters track up the Atlantic coast. Over 20 students will participate in the project in teams consisting of four students, with the teams deploying on a rotating basis.

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2020 Student Awards and Achievement

Three meteorology students, Adam Weiner, Chad Wiley, and Benjamin Fellman, (clockwise from upper left), have received several awards in recent months. Adam Weiner is the recipient of the 2020 A. G. Breidenstine Award for the "most outstanding thesis", 2020 Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship, and a 2020 Portz Scholar.Adam Weiner is also the recipient of the Tim Samaras Memorial Scholarship in Research Meteorology award and the first student from Millersville University to be awarded this scholarship, which includes an academic stipend for his final year of undergraduate study and partial funding to attend the 2019 Severe Storms and Doppler Radar Conference in Ankeny, Iowa where the award was presented.Chad Wiley is the recipient of the 2019 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship. Ben Fellman is also a recipient of the 2019 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship and a 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division II Men's At-Large Third Team. Read more about these outstanding achievements here >>

Read more about Adam's achievement >>

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Three Meteorology Students Awarded Hollings Scholarship

Three sophomores, Robert Commodari, Cameron Gonteski, and Elijah Crisden, received the Hollings Scholarship, which provides undergraduate students academic assistance (up to $9,500 per year) for two years of full-time study and a 10-week, full-time paid ($700/week) internship at a NOAA facility during the summer. This outstanding recognition marks the second consecutive year that Millersville students have earned this prestigious award. Last year, two Marauders, Benjamin Fellman and Chad Wiley, received the award. Only about 120 students are chosen each year from across the country and 75% of Hollings scholar alumni have pursued a graduate degree. Read more >>

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Students Continue Issuing Campus Weather Service Forecasts Remotely During COVID-19 Crisis

The C19 crisis hasn't stopped the weather, nor has it halted our  meteorology students from learning the art and science of forecasting. This photo shows six of our students working from home...issuing Lancaster-area forecasts three times per day, under the mentorship of WIC Director Horst.

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Highlight Video of MU Meteorology Research Opportunities

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MU Students Attend 100TH AMS Conference IN BOSTON

A record number of Millersville meteorology students and graduate students in the MSISA program attended the 100^th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society in Boston, MA. Many students presented their research and used the event to network.

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Space Weather Group Conducts First High-Altitude Balloon Measurements

A small group of meteorology majors, known as the Space Weather Group, conducted a maiden launch of a balloon carrying a payload of instruments for measuring X-rays, Gamma rays, and UV rays, as well as a radiosonde for collecting weather data. The balloon carried its payload to an altitude of 103,000 feet... Read more >>

Millersville Student Balances School and Job as an On-air Meteorologist

Read more about Caitlin Westerholm's balance of school and her job here